On Saturday, July 23, some of the nation’s top breakdancers gathered together to compete in the prestigious Red Bull BC One Cypher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a regional prelim to the world’s largest one-on-one breakdancing competition. 16 “B-Boys” and 16 “B-Girls” battled it out with their incredible moves, hoping to secure a spot at the national competition in Los Angeles.

PRIDE chatted with the über talented queer breaker, Dosu, who left it all on the dance floor this time around.

GETTING STARTED

Dosu first emerged onto the breaking scene at 16 years old, but his life has seemingly always been rooted in dance.

Taking up classes in “ballet, jazz, Peruvian tap, hip hop, and contemporary dance” while growing up in Peru, the 29-year-old performer always knew that movement was his passion.

But when he first got a glimpse of break dancing, his passion became his purpose.

“When I was 16, I saw breakers and I fell in love with it. I asked them right away if they could teach me,” he shared, quickly soaking in various moves and styles – until he soon crafted his own.

TAKING THE FLOOR

“When I first started dancing, it was about winning. I just wanted to destroy the competition and show them why I’m here,” Dosu explained.

But the more in touch he became with himself, the more that changed.

“Now, it’s about leaving somewhat of a legacy to help inspire other people. I get inspired by people, and now people get inspired by me.”

A proudly out gay breaker, it’s obvious that Dosu has come into his own – not only in his style of dance, which he describes as “stylish, original and controlled,” but also in his identity as a gay man. Growing up in Peru, he didn’t identify as gay because he felt he didn’t fit the mold of what being gay appeared to be.

“In Peru, when I met a gay guy, most were feminine, and that’s not who I thought I was, so I was always questioning, ‘Am I actually gay? Because if I’m gay, I should be feminine.’”

Amidst his inner battles, Dosu “knew for sure” that he was gay around “19 or 20” after watching an Elton John music video and finding him “very attractive.” (He now wears a single cross earring, as Elton does, paying homage to the legendary performer.)

After moving to the U.S. around the same time, Dosu realized being gay actually had “nothing to do with being feminine.” He concluded, “I could be gay and still be who I was.”

SETTLING IN 

Of course, self-acceptance is anything but linear, and one step forward often lends to two steps backward. 

In Dosu’s case, being gay brought on a new set of challenges within the sport that he loved. Breaking – which is widely known as an ultra “machismo” sport – contained very few out LGBTQ+ performers when Dosu first started, making it even harder for him to openly step into his truth.

“Going to competitions, at first it was very hard,” he shared, reflecting on the fact that simply saying the words “I’m gay” were extremely “challenging.”

But once he started to tell people, like friends and fellow dancers, the response he received turned out to be completely unexpected.

“They were like, ‘Oh okay cool. That’s great. Let’s go train now,’” Dosu laughed softly, emphasizing the nonchalance of it all.

DANCING ON HIS OWN

Almost 10 years later, Dosu is out, proud, and at the top of his game.

“There’s nothing more liberating than being yourself,” he says, noting that his authenticity has only helped him in feeling empowered while competing.

“This is liberating,” he repeats. “I don’t have to hide anything. I just have to be myself.”

As the winner of three major competitions, Dosu is gearing up for the biggest competition of all: the 2024 Olympics, where breakdancing will be an Olympic sport for the first time.

Dosu isn’t sweating it, though. He’s keeping it simple and staying focused on what he loved at sixteen: “I love to create things people have not seen. I just want to show my style.”